Generally, a rear subframe is configured such that a pair of front and rear cross members extending in a vehicle width direction, and left and right side members extending in a vehicle front-rear direction are connected substantially in a grid pattern in a plan view of a vehicle.
In a case where the aforementioned rear subframe is mounted on a vehicle configured such that the height of a rear seat pan is set low in order to secure comfort of a passenger seated on a rear seat and to secure a low hip point, a portion above a front-side vehicle-body mounting portion of the rear subframe is restricted by the rear seat pan. Furthermore, it is necessary to dispose a propeller shaft and an exhaust pipe in the vehicle front-rear direction. Therefore, a front cross member constituting the rear subframe may be formed into a saddle shape.
In order to reinforce a lower portion of the saddle-shaped front cross member, it is proposed to dispose a brace below the saddle-shaped portion in the vehicle width direction. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to dispose a thick brace in a straight manner in the vehicle width direction in a case where an exhaust pipe and a propeller shaft are disposed in a narrow space restricted by the rear seat pan.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration, in which an upper member element corresponding to a rear subframe is provided, a saddle-shaped portion for receiving a propeller shaft in a vehicle front-rear direction is formed on the upper member element, and a lower member element corresponding to a brace is provided below the saddle-shaped member.
However, in the conventional structure disclosed in Patent Literature 1, in view of a point that the aforementioned lower member element is formed substantially linearly in the vehicle width direction in a front view, there is a problem that the layout of an exhaust pipe is deteriorated in a case where the aforementioned conventional structure is employed in a vehicle configured such that the height of a rear seat pan is set low. Thus, there is room for improvement.